Coburg ~ A Gothic City untouched by WWII bombs

COUNTRY – Germany
DATES – 27th & 28th JUNE
CAMPERVAN SITE – Anger Wohnmobilstellplatz – the huge carpark of a large sporting stadium – we could use the toilets at the stadium – no water or electrical facilities – FREE

CAMPERVAN SITE

Carpark with no facilities – use of toilet in the stadium only

This little town is located on tbe Itz River in the Upper Franconia Region in the state of Bavaria

Population = 41,071

Coburg was first mentioned in a monastic document dated 1056

One of Germanys largest castles is located here, Veste Corburg.

Lucky for us European fanatics, Coburg was not damaged during the war so there are many historic buildings still here and a huge tourist destination (mainly for the Germans themselves, haven’t heard much English happening in many of these cities actually)

We drove down from Erfurt at 10:30am and after a few road detours thanks to roadworks we arrived around 1:30pm – glad to have made it here early as there were only 8 places for campervans at this bus car park – free for the night which is good as the last 2 days cost is €42 which has been the most expensive so far on the trip

We went shopping at “Netto” and bought some really nice vegies and fruit (oh and advocat and wine of course!) so we are all set to make a nice dinner of fish and veggies tonight

…im telling you, we are rorted in sydney, shopping here is so cheap in comparison to Australia, Its around 20-50% cheaper! And the food is really fresh and there is just so much choice for everything… e.g a bottle of sparkling water 1.5l is euro 19c = AU0.29c aussie, packet of gourmet brown special fibre bread is euro 99c, you could never find that in aus for au$1.55! A litre of milk is eu0.69c = AU$1.08… thats about the same as what we have I guess… ok a bottle of whiskey, €6.99 thats AU$11, ive never seen a bottle of whiskey for that cheap ever other than Burma where it was Au$7, anyways, just me comparing as I love seeing how other countries live and how different they are from us 🤗

We got to the carpark around lunch time and there are only 8 spots here so there was plenty of room to park our van, it was right next to an athletic field so the carpark is always full

I went for a wander around the town centre, our camping spot is literally a 5min walk which is great!

I had a realllly nice cake made from hazelnuts chocolate, cookies and cream and a cappuccino, went down so well with the view of Albertsplatz – cost €6.00 for 🍰 cake and ☕️coffee with a $1m view 😊

Veste Coburg (Coburg Castle)

€8 entry if you choose to view the inside – well worth it!! It took us a full 4 hours to finish everything

Walking to the castle the scenery was beautiful….

This really is such a beauty of a castle! I’ve been in many castles and explored and this one I really felt like it gave me a good glimpse into.gothic castle life as well as later on Renaissance life, teaching the viewer how the equipment worked in case of a seige or how they would live every day life…

The first fortification constructed on this site was in the 10th C. And there were 2 massive renovations in 1838 as well as 1906, there were continuous additions and changes made throughout the centuries and you can tell by the different styles, it stands out immediately

The hill which the castle stands on has been inhabited from the neolithic days, there have been excavations to prove this

Coburg castle was first mentioned in documentation in 1056, the property was gifted for creation of an Abbey on the site which was then built in 1075

Interesting thing… Where Coburg stands was once a town called Trufalistat and was on a major trade route from Nuremburg via Erfurt to Leipzig

Walking to the castle took around 40mins as we walked through a beautiful park through the city and up the hill, first seeing the castle was a shock as it looked fake! Its one of the biggest castles in Germany

Started raining which really added to the atmosphere!

The castle had many parts to it and you really had to look or else you could miss a part of the castle

For my reference, taken from google an overhead shot of the castle

The Main Square

Beautiful and colourful! The buildings surrounding the square

Schloss Ehrenburg

Renovated in 19th c. into revival Gothic style, this palace was built between 1543-1547 and has been renovated in 1699 as well as in the 19th C.

It was built for Johann Ernst Duke of Saxe-coburg and was built around a Franciscan monastery which unfortunately was dissolved during the reformation

During the 19th C. Reconstruction, the whole facade of the original palace was covered with the sandstone that we see today

It is now a museum

St Moriz

Of gothic / baroque architecture, this Protestant Church is dedicated to Saint Maurice, it’s the oldest church in Coburg and the existing 14th C church is built ontop of a former 12th C. Church

The Dukes of Coburg and their families are buried here

This church has a very light and open feel to it with minimal artworks and images on the side walls unlike many of the other churches we have seen in Germany